Could Next-Gen Reactors Spark Revival In Nuclear Power?

Tech titans like Bill Gates
are helping fund a new generation of commercial nuclear reactors, some
likely in China, as a solution to climate change. Will the new U.S.
Clean Power Plan give them a boost?

Finnish power consortium Fennovoima says it has already received
nearly one billion euros in financing for its Pyhäjoki nuclear power
plant. At the same time main Russian building contractor Titan-2 has
begun preparatory building work - although an official construction
permit for the nuclear plant isn’t likely until 2018.

Russia charts progress with new MOX fuel development

The director general of Russia's Mining and Chemical Combine
(MCC) said yesterday that the enterprise's mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel
fabrication facility will increase its annual production of fuel
assemblies from 20 this year to 400 in 2017.

RENEWED INTEREST IN NUCLEAR POWER

The
work of a number of scientists who offer strong evidence that
humankind’s negative impact on the environment can peak and decline this
century is gaining traction in conservation and development
debates. You won’t hear about "peak environmental impact" from
conventional green organizations, but you can at a number events from September 23-25
in the greater London area. Breakthrough cofounders Michael
Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus and Director of Conservation Linus
Blomqvist will make the case for ecomodernism —
a new environmentalism committed not only to returning more of Earth to
nature, and saving the climate, but also lifting all humans out of
poverty. We invite you to attend, engage, and help us build a more
positive vision of our environmental future. Use the registration links below to RSVP, and if you have any questions, feel free to email info@thebreakthrough.org.

Global
conservation efforts have focused on protected areas and in recent
decades on payments for ecosystem services. While important at the local
level, these approaches have proven unable to halt the loss of wildlife
and natural habitats on a large scale. Following the release of a new
report Nature Unbound, Linus Blomqvist will argue that what spares nature is technological change, along with urbanization and modernization. This event is free and open to the public. Register to attend here.

Georgina Mace, Michael Shellenberger, and Byrony Worthington discuss "Is It Time for Ecomodernism?"Thursday, September 24
Free Word Centre (London)Sense about Science, Energy for Humanity, and Breakthrough Institute are cosponsoring an evening event – Is It Time for Ecomodernism?
– at the Free Word Centre in London. US ecomodernist and president of
Breakthrough Institute, Michael Shellenberger will kick off the program
by arguing that ecomodernism — and only ecomodernism — can make the
planet habitable for future generations. He will be joined for a
discussion by University College London professor of biodiversity and
ecosystems Georgina Mace and Shadow Minister for the Department of
Energy and Climate Change Baroness Byrony Worthington. The goal is
to fill the room with leading thinkers and doers and have a conversation
that will help launch the ecomodernist movement. This event is free and open to the public. Register to attend here.Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus present at UK 2020: EcomoderismThursday, September 24
UK 2020 Westminster (London)UK
2020 is hosting Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus of the
Breakthrough Institute for an event that will consider the future of
environmentalism, and how policy at a UN, EU, and state level needs to
be guided by science and not ideology. Joining the panel are Mark Lynas
of the Alliance for Science at Cornell University, journalist Matt
Ridley, and Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP, former UK Environment Secretary. This event is invitation-only. To find out more please contact info@uk2020.org.uk.

Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus present at Global Conference on Stranded Assets and the EnvironmentFriday, September 25
Oxford University's Smith School of Enterprise and the EnvironmentWhile
stranded assets are a regular feature of economic systems and are a
phenomenon inherent in the ‘creative destruction’ of economic growth,
the causes of asset stranding appear to be changing. Environment-related
factors are increasingly stranding assets across a wide range of
sectors and geographies and this trend is accelerating. The factors
range from physical climate change, to new environmental regulations
(including climate policy), developments in clean energy technology,
resource constraints, evolving social norms, and litigation. Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus will present a keynote
speech on decoupling as a strategy for stranded assets based upon the new report Nature Unbound. The conference is currently booked, but there is a waiting list. Register here.

Nuclear Energy Side Events at the 59th IAEA General Conference

The IAEA Department of Nuclear Energy (NE) will host seven side events during the upcoming General Conference (14–18 September 2015), along with an exhibition on sustainable nuclear power. The
exhibit on M01 level of the M Building will also feature a computer
simulation of a nuclear power reactor that any participant can try!
All NE side events are open to all registered participants of the
General Conference, including representatives of the media and NGOs. The
list of side events is as follows:5th Nuclear Operator Organization Cooperation Forum Nuclear
Power Generation in the Next Decade: Challenges and Solutions for
2015–2025Wednesday, 16 September | 09:30–11:00 | Room C4, C Building, 7th floor
The Forum intends to enhance cooperation among nuclear owner/operating
organizations in strengthening the safety and effectiveness of nuclear
electricity generation. This year’s event will focus on the top ten
areas for ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient operation of nuclear
power plants over the next decade. Read more...Developing Solutions for Deep Geological Disposal of High Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel Wednesday, 16 September| 10:00-11:30 | Room M4, M Building, ground floor
Safe radioactive waste management solutions are in operation around the
world, with the exception of deep geological disposal for high level
waste or spent nuclear fuel. A solid technical and scientific foundation
has, however, been developed for the latter, for all major types of
host rock formations. This event will provide a brief overview of
worldwide efforts towards successful implementation. Read more...Small Modular Reactors: Option for a Safe Nuclear Power Technology for Near-term Deployments Wednesday, 16 September | 11:30-13:00 | Room C4, C Building, 7th floor
The event will highlight design, safety, regulation, and operation
aspects of current Small Modular Reactor designs to promote competitive,
safe and sustainable nuclear power technology for near-term
deployments. Read more...Global Status of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Inventories and Management Strategies: The Status and Trends Project Wednesday, 16 September | 12:00-13:30 | Room M6, M Building, ground floor
The IAEA, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and the European Commission are
collaborating on a two-year project to produce a report on current
global inventories of spent fuel and radioactive waste and on strategies
for the management of these materials. This event will provide an
opportunity for Member States to familiarize themselves with the
progress of the project.FoRUM: Friends of Responsible Uranium Mining Meeting the Challenges of Competing Stakeholders’ Expectations Wednesday, 16 September | 13:30-15:00 | Room M4, M Building, ground floor
This event will explore how the challenges of different and sometimes
conflicting expectations of different stakeholders in uranium mining can
be met both in established markets and in newcomer countries.Borehole Disposal: A Safe and Effective Endpoint for Disused Sealed Radioactive Sources Wednesday, 16 September | 14:00-15:30 | Room M6, M Building, ground floor
The borehole disposal concept is a comprehensive engineered system that
is a cost effective method for the safe, secure and permanent disposal
of DSRS. This event will review recent developments and projects that
are ongoing to demonstrate the feasibility of the borehole disposal
concept and to establish and implement a borehole facility. Read more...Africa’s Energy Needs and the Potential Role of Nuclear Power Wednesday, 16 September | 15:30-17:00 | Room C4, C Building, 7th floor
The side event will present recent updates from Africa on the potential
role of nuclear power, including the IAEA Third Regional Conference on
Energy and Nuclear Power in Africa, held in Mombasa, Kenya, in April
2015, and an initiative to launch a new African network for enhancing
nuclear power programme development. The event will also report on
recent developments in several African Member States considering,
embarking on, or expanding national nuclear power programmes. Read more...European Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering (EMSNE) Award Ceremony Thursday, 17 September | 14:00-15:30 | M02 Foyer, M Building, 2nd floor
For the fourth time, the IAEA is hosting the European Master of Science
in Nuclear Engineering (EMSNE) Award Ceremony of the European Nuclear
Education Network Association (ENEN). Twenty-six laureates will receive
the EMSNE Certificates this year. With this event, cooperation in
nuclear education, training and research is further enhanced between the
IAEA and ENEN. Read more...

(In response to Rep. Price's question about having a schedule for civilian atomic power plants)

RICKOVER:
From my experience so far, I would say that all reactors are going to
cost considerably more and take considerably more time to design and
construct than was originally anticipated. I am, of course, talking
from my own experience, but certainly we are pushing our programs hard
and still running into many delays, so I would think other people are
going to experience the same thing. As you know, the costs at
Shippingport have gone up.

REP: HOLIFIELD: How much have they gone up?

RICKOVER:
Congress originally authorized the Shippingport project for a total of
$100 million. We estimated then it would cost $85 million. The latest
cost estimate as of today is about $42 million for research and
development and $55 million for construction of the nuclear portion of
the plant. Of this $55 million, $5 million was given to the government
by Duquesne Light Co. as part of the contract we made with them when
they were selected. So the government cost is $50 million for
construction plus $42 million for research and development, which makes a
total of about $92 million. That will be the cost provided we can
finish it in a reasonable time. If the time is stretched out, the cost
will go up.

-----
SIDE NOTE. Everyone read that paragraph again, and think about the
relation to today, to Vogtle, to V.C. Summer, to Olkiluoto and
Flamanville. Cost overruns are not only NOT new, they are so old that
Rickover was calling the shot BEFORE the first full scale atomic power
station was actually started up. Think about that for a moment. -----

(Discussion in chamber off the record, then)..

RICKOVER:
The costs of all reactors are going up, sir. I would estimate from
what I have seen you can expect probably at least a 50 percent increase
in all of the large reactor projects. I am talking from my own
experience. This is what my experience indicates.

(Representative
Price, after this, spends a few minutes trying to get Rickover to
commit to a predicted date for wide scale operation of large commercial
nuclear reactors in the US. Rickover reminds Rep. Price that this is
not his element, and Price asks just for his personal opinion-- which
Rickover was not often shy on presenting. We pick up the discussion at
this point as Rickover observes that "some people working on the program
are not entirely realistic" and "do not have enough practical
experience.")

Rep Price: When you say they are not considering all problems, what would you mean by that?

RICKOVER:
For instance, some of these reactor designs, as I see them, do not
take into account some of the things that might go wrong, so they do not
put into the design enough features, in my opinion, which would take
care of them.

Rep. Price:
In other words, you do not feel the reactor is a proven thing until you
know what it would do in the event of an accident.

RICKOVER: This is why we build prototypes and try them out.

---------

Several
days later during further testimony on Shippingport which involved a
number of Westinghouse people, the following interesting exchange
occurred when it was asked of Westinghouse and Rickover, somewhat
insistently, whether or not, or how soon, a 200,000 KW output nuclear
power station could be built given that a 60,000 KW nuclear station was
in the final stages of construction. This relates well to today's
"paper" reactors, whether LWR or non-LWR. Keep in mind that
Shippingport had included the very largest reactor vessel that could be
manufactured, and in many ways was built at the absolute outer limit of
the possible technology, when you read this.

Chairman
Durham: Suppose somebody comes to Westinghouse now and says, "We want a
reactor that will produce 200,000 kilowatts of power." At what point
could you tell that person that his plant would operate?

Dr. Krasik (Westinghouse): If this were the first plant of a type?

Chairman
Durham: You have built a plant here at 60,000 kilowatts. Then someone
comes in and says to Westinghouse, "We want 200,000 kilowatts."

Dr.
Krasik: Having done Shippingport and having operated the Shippingport
plant we could probably now give a fairly good estimate back in here of
what the feasibility would be of a 200,000 kilowatt plant.

RICKOVER: He said "feasibility" though. Be careful.

Chairman Durham: I am trying to get to the point where we can sell some of these.

Rep.
Holifield: You would be selling "feasibility" then if you actually
went into the market to sell it. You wouldn't be selling "actuality."

(Yes, this is the legendary Chet Holifield. And he was absolutely correct.)

There
is a discussion on the price of power from atomic power plants, and
Rickover loosely throws around some numbers and advises that while some
estimates were made public early, he was adamantly against releasing any
estimates at all. The following exchange then takes place:

RICKOVER:
.... Of course, one gets engrossed in his own work and he pretty
soon begins to think he is pretty good and no one else knows anything.
In order for somebody to turn out a reactor which will produce at 14 to
20 mills, he is going to have to build one a lot better than we now
have or know how to build.

Rep.
Price: You know all of the reactors in this power demonstration
program. Can you think of one right now which in your opinion could
accomplish this?

RICKOVER:
I wouldn't buy stock in any company which guarantees to produce power
at that rate. If you have any extra money, I would advise you to invest
it somewhere else.

Later,
Rickover delivers a version of his oft-quoted "real vs. paper reactors"
line when Price asks him whether or not the Shippingport plant is as
efficient as some other unbuilt nuclear plant types were claimed to
be...

RICKOVER: Any plant
you haven't built yet is always more efficient than the one you have
built. That is obvious. They are all efficient when you haven't done
anything on them. They are in the talking stage. Then they are all
efficient. They are all cheap. They are all easy to build, and none
have any problems. That is quite correct. They do not have any
problems at that stage.

----
There is a LOT more testimony in this volume, but the portions I've
typed above for you all indicate that Rickover stayed on message at all
times. He never told people that something was ready now if it wasn't.
He never predicted costs below original estimates - always above. He
ALWAYS said that "future designs" were pushed as better than present
designs for any number of reasons. The lessons here are myriad, but
telling the public the RIGHT MESSAGE and then STAYING ON THAT MESSAGE
are two of the most significant lessons we can put to work regarding
communication about nuclear energy.

It was a busy summer for Nuclear Matters! We've spent the last few
months on the road to raise awareness about the important role existing
nuclear energy plants play in our country's energy mix. As you know,
nuclear plants are our most reliable source of energy – a particularly
important benefit during the summer months of peak electricity demand.

* *Newport, RI:* We shared information on the benefits of nuclear
plants with energy regulators from throughout the Northeast at a Nuclear
Matters-sponsored reception.

* *Milwaukee, WI:* Leadership Council member and Former FERC
Commissioner Vicky Bailey joined a panel to address utilities officials
from Missouri, Michigan and Wisconsin.

* *Williamsburg, VA: *Our Co-Chair Evan Bayh and Leadership Council
member Sean McGarvey, President of the North America's Building Trades
Unions, spoke at a gathering of regulatory utility commissioners from
across the mid-Atlantic.

As we head into the fall, be sure to stay up to date with the campaign's latest activities on the blog [ http://www.nuclearmatters.com/blog ], and we hope you will join us at an event in your area soon.

Sendai unit #1 is the first Japanese nuke to resume commercial
operations… Tepco will begin the release of purified groundwater next
week… Typhoon Etau caused another overflow of rainwater run-off into the
sea… Nagadoro evacuees have been compensated for “…more money than
anyone in Nagadoro has ever seen before”… A lax information submittal
may doom Mihama #3.